BWCA
- September 6-20, 2011

Page
8: The Pagami Creek Fire

This
map shows the extent of the fire on a near-daily basis from August
31 to September 16. I've marked it up to show my route through the
burned area and the location of the Lake One Entry Point. This image
is from the Inciweb site,
which indicates a total burned area of 92, 682 acres (145 square miles).
The greatest number of personnel on duty at any one time was about
850, and as of Oct. 22, 2011 the cost to contain the fire was $22.3
million.

Many thanks to PJ Sikorsky for sharing the following
photos which were taken from the landing at Kawishiwi
Lake [EP37]
on September 12, 2011. They are used here with permission. PJ also
shared some trip notes with me:

"Just a couple notes about our trip. We were originally
planning on entering the BWCAW at Lake One, but the entry point was
closed due to the fire, and the Forest Service suggested Kawishiwi
Lake as a safe alternative. We put in (there
were nine of us in four canoes) at about 11:30 AM under blue skies
with a slight breeze out of the NW. The smoke cloud was barely visible
on the far northwestern horizon. We paddled from Kawishiwi Lake
up a small creek into Square Lake, and while we were paddling the wind
was building continuously. By the time we got to Square Lake
there were white caps on the lake, which was pretty amazing because
it is a very small lake. Shortly after entering Square Lake one
of the canoes in our group was blown onto some rocks and capsized. Fortunately,
the water was shallow and the day was still warm so we were able to
get everybody out of the water and dried off.

"While were waiting
on shore we could see the smoke cloud getting closer. We made
the decision to return to Kawishiwi Lake rather than proceed
on the route we had planned. It continued to get darker and darker
as we returned to Kawishiwi. Ash started to fall, the air got
very smoky, there were periods of eerie calm, and then huge gust of
winds as we were paddling back through the small creek. When
we got to Kawishiwi Lake a Forest Service plane buzzed us, which we
took to mean that we should return to the landing. When we arrived
there were the Forest Service and MDNR officers shown in one of the
photos telling us the area were in was closed and they were going
in to see if they could find others to escort out. We had
seen some campers on Square Lake and talked with them; they were planning
on staying put, and I presume they changed their minds and left. The
[following] photos were taken at about 3:30 PM from the
landing at Kawishiwi Lake.

"According
to the September 13 Duluth News, a couple on Kawasachong Lake
had to seek refuge in the water as the fire burned over their campsite
at 4:00 PM. We were planning on portaging into Kawasachong from
Square Lake before the one canoe capsized. Had it not been for
that we may have been on the portage when the fire went through -
not a pleasant thought."

- PJ Sikorsky

Here a US Forest Service Officer
and MN DNR Officer enter Lake Kawashiwi to help
paddlers exit:

I estimate the trees at the bottom left of this picture
at about 100 feet tall. That would make the flames at least 1,500 feet
high - over one-quarter mile.